"The history of the site was intriguing As early as 1870, Boss Tweed had decided that the site was the finest in the city for a new hotel and for the investment of the loot he had acquired during his reign as lord of the city treasury; he began excavations for a building he planned to call the Knickerbocker. Tweed's fall meant that The Knickerbocker never got built. The plot remained a vacant eyesore until the twelve-story Hotel Savoy, designed by Ralph S. Townsend, was built and opened in 1892. The public rooms were embellished with an array of marbles that must have been absolutely dazzling....Although referred to as a hotel, the Savoy was actually a luxury apartment house with more-or-less permanent residents. These included in 1914 Charles H. Hayden; Roland F. Knoedler, the art dealer; and Mrs. Rhinelander Waldo, who had just built an extraordinary Renaissance house on the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and Seventy-second Street but did not live in it."
Jerry E. Patterson, "Fifth Avenue, The Best Address," Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1998.

HOTEL SAVOY
This twelve story hotel was built in 1892 by Ralph S. Townsend and was distinguished by its vertical rows of bay windows. The hotel was eventually demolished.

The General Motors Building replaced the very elegant, formal, twin-chimneyed Savoy Plaza Hotel that had been designed by McKim, Mead & White directly across Fifth Avenue from the Plaza Hotel. The Savoy Plaza was, in fact, the best looking of this group of super luxury hotels though it was far shorter and bulkier than the Pierre and Sherry Netherland.

Now the General Motors Building is at 767 Fifth Ave.
built from 1964 to 1968 in the International Style
50 floors and 215 meters tallThe facade of the 50-storey building is formed by piers of white marble with glass bays between, and the vertically soaring mass with a slightly protruding center rises to the height of 215 m. (214.3m at the edge) You can find the FAO Schwartz store and CBS-TV studios on the ground floor.
50 floors high, you'll get dizzy looking skyward

Now Steve Jobs designed the 32 foot glass cube and spiral staircase to the subterranean Apple Store

Here is a view looking up from inside the Apple Store, below the glass cube. Steve Jobs helped design the cube, which was inspired by I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris.

The Plaza Hotel is still across 5th Avenue but unseen from this view. Bergdoff Goodman is also across the street.

This latest store opened on the 5th anniversary of the first Apple retail store's opening which was at Tysons Corner in McLean, VA. This is Apple's 147th. It is the first to stay open 24/7/365 round-the-clock. There will be 300 employees filling the 25,000 square foot below grade Apple Store.